Unveiling the benefits of Blockchain-as-a-Service

By now, most people are aware of the general concept of blockchain technology. To put it simply, the blockchain is a secure online ledger of electronic transactions stored in a series of individual “blocks” that can be used to record everything from financial payments to academic credits and employment verifications.

Blockchain solution development is increasing at a rapid pace as the tech industry anticipates that this technology will permeate every aspect of digital life. CB Insights recently released
a report detailing 42 industries that will be transformed by blockchain technology in the near future.

As more and more companies are jumping on the blockchain bandwagon, they are increasingly utilizing the benefits of the Blockchain-as-a-Service platform. Here’s why.

Benefits of BaaS

Because blockchain technology is still relatively new, Blockchain-as-a-Service providers are capitalizing on the fact that businesses are being very cautious when it comes to implementation. It’s much easier for an organization to ease into blockchain and get an understanding of how it will work for their company by using an experienced service provider to handle the setup and operation.

Another benefit to outsourcing blockchain development is that there are very few highly-skilled blockchain developers available for hire. It would cost an exorbitant amount of money to hire a full-time in-house blockchain development team. Plus, a lot of companies are just now trying to figure out how blockchain will fit into their overall business processes, so investing a lot of capital in the solution at this point is not feasible.

By using an established and trusted service provider to implement blockchain procedures, companies are lessening their overall expenses as well as risks associated with adopting new technology. Also, several of these companies are already using other cloud services provided by these BaaS providers.

BaaS companies

Several of the biggest players in the IT industry have already been offering BaaS solutions. Microsoft introduced its Azure Blockchain-as-a-Service products back in 2015. It helps companies that are already using other Microsoft solutions to introduce blockchain technology into their current business processes. Microsoft Blockchain-as-a-Service clients include 3M, Webjet, and Xbox.

Hewlett Packard launched its BaaS service in 2017, with a primary focus on the financial industry. HP utilizes the blockchain platform Corda, which was developed by financial technology company R3.

Other major companies offering blockchain solutions include IBM, Oracle, and Amazon Web Services.

Blockchain-as-a-service startups

In addition to well-known tech giants providing BaaS services, there are several up-and-coming startups that are paving the way for blockchain adoption. These companies are developing solutions that will transform the financial, medical, retail, and insurance industries.

Preventing the next financial collapse

Auditchain provides a decentralized accounting blockchain solution for enterprise organizations. It helps to prevent fraud through real-time and continuous auditing procedures that are visible to all investors and stakeholders.

Revolutionizing (and securing) healthcare records

Medicalchain is a healthcare solution based on blockchain technology that allows hospitals and medical facilities to securely store patient data and make it accessible across different service providers, including doctors’ offices, hospitals, walk-in medical locations, pharmacies, and insurance providers.

Changing how we shop online

Open Bazaar takes the concept of online marketplaces such as Amazon and eBay and adds Bitcoin to the equation. The solution facilitates peer-to-peer transactions that are fee-free to buyers and sellers. All payments are made through Bitcoin.

Ensuring assurance

SmartLedger is a blockchain technology provider focused primarily on smart contracts for insurance providers. It created the
SmartLedger Insurance Consortium (SLIC), which is an organization designed to encourage the use of blockchain throughout the insurance industry.

Blockchain technology may be the future of how we do everything online, but that future is not too far away. With technical advancements moving at warp-speed in this day and age, it’s important for all companies – both enterprise and small businesses – to come up with a plan as to how they will adopt the blockchain. Blockchain-as-a-Service is a great way for these organizations to test the waters and grow with the technology as it evolves.